FX.co ★ Ethereum takes another step towards PoS: what to expect from main altcoin in August?

In July, Ethereum became the top gainer in the crypto market. ETH quotations rose by $650, which allowed the altcoin market to resume growth. The positive investor sentiment also helped Bitcoin to renew its local high above $24,000. From a fundamental point, Ethereum looks very attractive. Institutional investors bought ETH in July, creating a trend, and all other investors joined it. The main altcoin continues upward movement and judging by developers' announcements, ether is likely to continue growing in August.

Let's start with the fundamental signal, which demonstrates investors' interest in ether and precedes the next stage of the bullish rally. On the daily time frame, the ETH/USD pair has formed a cup and handle pattern, which is a large-scale bullish one. The upside potential of this pattern reaches $2,700. However, for the final completion of this pattern, the cryptocurrency needs to break through $1,700, which acts as the main support area on the way to $2,000.

The situation with ether's trading volumes is similar to Bitcoin's. The asset reached a high and rebounded due to the fall in buying volumes, but the sellers' positions continue to be weak. Bulls managed to hold the price above $1,600, so ether remains slightly above that level and is likely to break through the high soon. Despite the similarity of the situation with Bitcoin, the overall trading volume and network activity of ETH are performing much better.

The main technical indicators were in a local sideways after reaching a peak. The RSI is moving near 60, indicating continued high investment interest in the main altcoin. The stochastic oscillator reached the level of 80 and moved above it, entering the overbought zone. The indicator formed a bearish crossover and fell below 80 after that. As of August 1, the stochastic's curve is beginning to go flat. The MACD continues its upward movement, which indicates that the current bullish trend is alive.

Given the announcements from the ETH development team, there is no doubt that the altcoin can continue its upward movement in August. The Bellatrix update will be launched on August 4, and the test version of Ethereum Goerli will start transitioning to the PoS algorithm in two stages as early as August 6-12. At the end of September, the main Ethereum network is expected to switch to the PoS algorithm. At least one major update awaits us in August and September, which will keep investors interested. It is likely that by the fall, Ethereum will be able to show the full upward potential of the cup and handle pattern.

Ether's growth is confirmed by the transition to PoS, but at the same time, the asset is dependent on macro factors. First of all, it is seen from its correlation with Bitcoin. At the same time, the main cryptocurrency is dependent on fundamentals and the stock market. Therefore, when making transactions with Ethereum, it is extremely important to take into account Bitcoin's price movements and other fundamental factors.

At the same time, there is a chance that Ether will reduce its dependence on Bitcoin. The BTC dominance index is in a downtrend and has reached 41. This is directly related to ETH's transition to the PoS model, and growing investment injections into the asset. With that in mind, we can assume that in August we may witness a strengthening of ETH's position in the market and a decrease in the influence of BTC both on the market and on the altcoin.